County attorneys partner with Largo school to help teach civic, social responsibilities

Prince George's County attorneys are volunteering their time to teach youth at a Largo school about the importance of their social and civic responsibilities.

A new Largo Evening High School initiative, "You and the Law: Pro-Bono Project" kicks off Wednesday to increase the social and civic of awareness the school's ninth- and 10th-graders.

Teacher Carolyn Yeager, who drafted the syllabus with the Prince George's County state's attorney's office, said that on Wednesday students will meet the attorneys, learn about civil law and participate in small group discussions and question-and-answer sessions.

"We're trying to create better citizens, better students, better children in our global economy, and part of that is knowing your rights," Yeager said. "This is going to be a phenomenal opportunity for our county to partner with the law community partners, and it's the beginning of something that I think will be lasting."

Michael Summers, the special assistant/community liaison for the Prince George's County state's attorney's office, said the office has been working with the Largo school for the last year to pilot the program.

Summers said he believes the students will be positively impacted by the program, learning about the importance of their actions and responsibilities through the discussions.

"It makes it real for them and it also provides them with potential mentors or people they can identify themselves with," Summers said.

Students enrolled in government, civic and business classes will participate in three civil, criminal and constitutional law classes during the school day twice a month beginning this month and during five more months throughout the school year, Summers said.

About 12 county attorneys from the county's state's attorney's office  including Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D)  will instruct the sessions free of charge, said Summers, who is seeking other volunteers, such as judges and lawyers at private practices.

"I do think it's a great program," said Ivey, whose term ends in January. "For a lot of [students] in the evening high school program, it's good to interact with them and give them a sense that prosecutors aren't necessarily enemies ... but people that are helpful to them. It also helps them to get a sense of the consequences of criminal conduct."

The program was done in the 1990s in Washington, D.C., but was tweaked for the Largo school, Summers said.

Principal Oliver Bridges noted that criminal activity among students is not a reason for implementing the program, and said he hopes students learn to be respectful and to do the right thing.

Another benefit, Bridges said, is that the program could help to increase the school's scores on the High School Assessment, a Maryland graduation requirement that includes testing on constitutional law.

In 2009, 57.9 percent of seniors, 36.4 percent of juniors and 50 percent of sophomores at Largo Evening High met the requirements, according to the Maryland Report Card website. Countywide, 99.4 percent of seniors, 79.9 percent of juniors and 69.9 percent of sophomores met the requirements in 2009.